Container Shipping News

Global container carrier schedule reliability in November declined for the fourth consecutive month, reaching especially dismal lows in the eastbound trans-Pacific trades to all US coasts.

The warning from two FMC commissioners comes as some carriers are refusing export bookings so they can ship empty containers back to Asia faster to be refilled with higher-paying exports to the United States.

BlueX Trade and Catapult are partnering to pipe instant rates from BlueX’s container line customers to Catapult’s forwarder customers, a further sign that instant quoting is gaining traction as an alternative to traditional spot quoting.

US imports from Asia in November were unusually strong, down only slightly from the peak months of October and August.

An executive at a Hong Kong-based freight forwarder expected blank sailing schedules to be finalized in early January, although he said the number of blank sailings would depend on the return of empty boxes to China.

The decision by Singamas shareholders offers hope that a bigger debt rehabilitation plan put forward by PIL will be accepted by the carrier’s other creditors and approved by Singapore’s high court at meetings early next year.

Asia-Europe rates are now three times higher than last December and coincide with the start of what are sure to be tense contract negotiations between carriers and shippers.

The real possibility that Asia imports will stay elevated through at least the first quarter, coupled with labor and trucking shortages, are creating a so-called perfect winter storm for more port congestion.

GTA Forecasting has upgraded its long-term outlook for global container volume, but has downgraded its 2021 forecast for US-Asia trade.

Non-vessel-operating common carriers have told JOC.com imports will likely remain strong beyond April and possibly through peak season 2021.

Agriculture exporters’ complaints also strike deeper chords of US maritime policy that years ago walked away from subsidizing a US flag fleet intended to provide viable transportation for US exports.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Michael Khouri’s comments come after the agency on Nov. 20 announced it would launch a formal investigation into carriers’ role into congestion at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and New York and New Jersey.

Hapag-Lloyd reporting stronger-than-expected volumes in the fourth quarter comes after global volumes rose 4.6 percent year over year in October, according to Container Trade Statistics.

The Digital Container Shipping Association’s latest effort is targeting a long sought-after goal in maritime and logistics — a paperless bill of lading — by making it standardized and interoperable.

That DHL Global Forwarding is considering chartering ships for container customers shows the extent to which the extended peak season has soaked up container capacity out of Asia into Europe and North America.

Bangladeshi shippers are struggling with higher freight rates on imports from China, but garment and raw material users have to bear the expense because of deadlines to ship finished goods to buyers.

Carriers say a new law proposed by India’s Ministry of Shipping that pushes for greater transparency on ocean pricing amounts to “government interference.”

The ONE Apus incident would mark the largest loss of containers at sea since the June 2013 sinking of the MOL Comfort off Yemen.

If ship ordering restraint were to be extended pending clarity on zero-carbon ships, the capacity shortage that manifested itself in 2020, and resulting upward pressure on rates, could continue beyond 2021.

The further deterioration in ocean reliability can be seen in vessel bunching this week at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, where 20 container ships were waiting at anchor as of Monday.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand in the United States and the Caribbean and Central America caused two-way trade between the regions to contract in the first nine months of 2020.

A series of developments over the past roughly five years has put shippers in the most disadvantageous position in regard to pricing power that they have perhaps ever faced.

Automation, self-invoicing bolster traditional third-party payment audit model

An intra-Asian trade pact, likely to be ratified next year, will cut or eliminate tariffs, harmonize rules of origin regulations, and deepen regional supply chains.

CMA CGM on Dec. 4 will launch Seapriority Express from Yantian to Los Angeles with guaranteed equipment availability and priority loading in China, and chassis availability in Southern California.

US federal maritime regulator’s decision to increase scrutiny of container lines is part of a larger global effort to monitor how carriers are behaving.

Shippers shouldn’t expect carriers to easily agree to increasing their minimum quantity commitments (MQC) within trans-Pacific service contracts, said Philip Damas, head of Drewry Supply Chain Advisors

Yang Ming has joined the growing list of container lines to offering a digital quoting and booking channel, with its use of software from BlueX Trade also a sign that this trend is taking root in Asia.

The FMC’s order drew immediate support from organizations representing truckers and agricultural exporters, who have testified about carrier practices they say contribute to port congestion and bottlenecks in the international supply chain.

California agricultural exporters say failing to deliver their products on time to overseas customers can result in buyers attempting to “wiggle out” of contracts that contain firm deadlines.

The US Federal Maritime Commission has rejected an argument from container lines that it lacks the authority to hear the American Trucking Associations’ complaint over so-called merchant haulage moves.

Indian shippers are preparing for other carriers to levy equipment surcharges for US-bound cargoes after Mediterranean Shipping Co. said it will do so starting Dec. 3.

While not as high as their prior forecast, shippers in the eastbound trans-Pacific should still expect service contract rates next spring above current levels because carriers will continue their policy of tight capacity management, Drewry says.

Zim this week announced new Asia-Australia and US-Mexico services and said another new service announcement would come soon.

Feeder vessels are seeing over 48 hours berthing delay in Colombo and nearly 36 hours in Singapore, lowering the number of possible voyages and raising costs.

By giving customers a chance to designate shipments for delivery on ships generating fewer emissions than those powered by bunker fuel, CMA CGM is able to capitalize on its unique assets: LNG-powered ships

DCSA and BIC have built a database of 11,000 depots, container yards, maintenance and repair vendors, and other supply chain container facilities in 160 countries.

A coalition of stakeholders says they will consider calling for an update of the Shipping Act of 1984 next year after asking the FMC for more immediate relief on detention and demurrage charges in the US’s two largest port complexes.

Many trans-Pacific shippers still have contract rates far below current spot rates, and while they cannot necessarily ship all their cargo on those low rates and at the same time get the space and equipment they need, they still do benefit.

Benefitting from equipment shortages in Asia and tight vessel capacity, NVOs continue to gain market share, but it’s the mid-size NVOs who are gaining at the fastest pace.